Etymology

coy

C3O1Y4

Today it means: Bashful, shy, retiring. Full definition →

Middle English coy ← Old French coi ← Latin qu(i)ētus
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coy · adjective, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromqu(i)ētus“resting, at rest”
  2. Old French · derived fromcoi
  3. Middle English · inherited fromcoy
  4. English todaycoy

From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin qu(i)ētus (“resting, at rest”). Doublet of quit, quiet, quite, and quietus.

coy · noun2

Compare decoy.

coy · noun3

Abbreviation of company.

Coy · proper noun4

The community is named after local merchant George McCoy.

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchcoi all →

Coey

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.